This American-style Pale Ale is a looker, pouring an attractive amber color with some light haze and lots of fluffy foam. We got lots of spicy, herbal-grassy hop notes in the aroma on this one—a couple of us even felt a touch of mint come through—bolstered by a bit of a floral note. On the palate, there's a very nice, smooth, caramel malt core that has a bit of breadiness to it and delivers some mild sweetness to support the hops which come...

It may be an unusual sort of name, but like all of Erie's beers, Misery Bay IPA's moniker has an historical angle. It was named in remembrance of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. So now that we've explained what's going on with that, let's dive in. On the pour, expect a lightly hazy golden orange color topped with some just-off-white foam that leaves a bit of lacing as it recedes. Lush floral and citric fruit aromas burst...

Bent River brews this oatmeal stout with coffee, dramatically augmenting the coffee-like overtones often present in beers like stouts and porters which are built with a large amount of roasted malt. Sometimes brewers can miss the mark and go a little too crazy with the coffee, but Bent River really hit the mark here well. Uncommon Stout pours a very dark brown with a very sizeable head that retains well. Unsurprisingly, big coffee notes ...

This brew is Erie's flagship product, and it won gold at the 2009 GABF in the Scottish Ale category after taking the bronze the previous year. Pouring a very pretty, rich, amber color, Railbender is clearly a malt-forward beer from the first sniff. Lightly bready caramel malt aromas come forth right away, with a significant toffee-like quality. Expect the hops to be soft, adding a bit of a leafy/woody quality with a touch of spice.

This baby pours an extremely dark, densely opaque black capped by some fluffy tan foam. The layer of yeast at the bottom of our bottles implies a bottle-conditioned brew. On the nose, expect plenty of dark roast notes with a bit of an ashy, smoky edge, plus toasted bread crust, toffee, hints of dark chocolate, and undercurrents of scorched caramel. Hop notes merge with the roasted malts to present an impression of Eastern spices.

These Einstök guys have great packaging; their labels are some of the more attractive we've seen recently. The stylized Viking head is eye-catching, and yes, we know they didn't actually wear horns on their helmets, but it's fun to imagine they did. Even more fun is imagining them wearing antlers and a glowing nose! This doppelbock is Einstok's only seasonal beer and it's produced for fall and early winter. Pouring an attractive deep amber...

Ölvisholt Brugghús’ Lava pours a pitch-black to chocolate-brown color, with just a sliver of light making it through at the edge. A medium-brown, fine-bubbled head forms and fades. A residual fencing of brown lacing stays behind, coating the sides when the liquid shifts. In the aroma one gets familiar, beechwood-smoked qualities from the beginning: an inky bitterness, mineral notes, charred meat, and bitter coffee.

Strubbe’s Grand Cru pours a deep golden-brown color, almost like mahogany. A reasonable clarity, and a touch viscous. An off-white chain of bubbles lingers along the perimeter of the glass, stringing very light lacing behind it. This has that look of aged wood, like the colors of liquid barrel. That central, bright berry character emerges from the glass first, followed right behind by rounded notes of fruit leather and caramel, with just a very...